Costa Rica

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Restaurant Review: The Chicago Diner: Part Deux

I know I
have reviewed The Chicago Diner before (check out the entry and feast your eyes
upon the pictures of delicious foods!) but I’ve never been to their second
location in Logan Square. We’ve always
loved the original location but today time was a bit more pressing to us than
preference so we went to their newer location.
Even though it was the same company, I had this weird feeling like we
were cheating on the Halsted Street location.
I know that I’m odd, thanks.

While the
Halsted location had a 1950s café vibe to it, the Milwaukee Avenue location in
Logan Square felt a bit more upscale.
There were longer booths in the middle of the restaurant and a bar
directly to the right as you entered.
Along the far wall was a big “Meat Free Since ’83” sign hanging from a
wall. We were seated at a smaller
two-seat table along the wall and began scouring over the menu. Let me tell you that that was no easy
task. Every time we go in there I find
it nearly impossible to narrow my choice down to one dish.

I ordered
my regular mocha shake, since nobody should ever leave The Chicago Diner
without trying one of their shakes, and somehow resisted ordering the larger
size. This turned out to be a wise
decision since I stuffed myself on the food.

For
appetizers – yes, plural – we ordered the Thai Chili Wingz and the
poutine. We seem to get the poutine
whenever we go there but how can you pass up fries covered in vegan sour cream,
‘bacon’, Teese vegan cheese, jalapenos, green onions, and gravy? You can’t, is the right answer if you know
what’s good for you. However, I think
the most amazing appetizer I’ve had there are the Thai Chili Wingz. HOT. DAMN.
They were amazing! These seitan
‘wings’ could probably fool many omnivores if they didn’t know it was
vegan. They came with a chili lime
marinade and served with Sriracha Ranch dipping sauce. I was seriously considering the notion of
getting an order to go.

For my main
dish I ordered the Caribbean risotto. I
was having a very tough choice deciding because the avocado tostados, scrambled
tofu deluxe, and pierogi quesadillas (!!) all sounded so good. This was a bit of a gamble for me, however,
because I’m still hit-or-miss on eating beans.
My wife was pretty surprised I even ordered this. I figured that it would be tolerable since
it was in a risotto and I love risotto.
I could eat risotto every day.
Grilled veggies and plantains surrounded the risotto. Despite my love-hate relationship with
beans, this dish was really good! The
rice, beans, and plantains reminded me of our vacation to Costa Rica and it got
me in the mood for our upcoming trip to Ecuador and Peru.

So,
definitely check out their second location in Logan Square if you’re in
Chicago. It’s a cool place with the
same fantastic food. I already want to
go back. I think my insatiable appetite
is partly why I’m the broke vegan.

Until next
time, keep calm and vegan on!

The Chicago Diner in Logan Square is located at 2333
N. Milwaukee Avenue. Check out my
previous TCD review for the link.